Friday, October 22, 2010

Just three weeks ago, we were preparing for a move to The Hague, Netherlands. As life and the Marine Corps would have it, that plan didn't pan out. Instead, we have been assigned to a post in Dublin, Ireland. While we view this as a fantastic opportunity and are excited to see the green of beautiful Erin, there was a hiccup. A big one.

Ireland has a strict animal quarantine, and Kioko had never been FAVN tested. Americans don't FAVN test their dogs as a general practice, and so I had never heard of such a thing. It never crossed my mind that Kioko's veterinary record was anything less than exemplary and complete...but I was wrong.

I have written two posts about all of this on my MCESG Blog, and you can read about the requirements for transporting an American dog to Ireland and the UK in my article, Quarantine for Kioko. What I would rather you read, however, is the story I wrote about Okinawa's Own Saint Francis. In it, I describe how Mary from Itoman saved the day and helped us get Kioko safely to our family in America. There, the beaglet can hang out and get grandbaby treatment from my mother-in-law until the quarantine period is over. We look to have Kioko living with us in Dublin by late April or early May.

We are sad to be losing the company of our Wonder Beagle for six months, but the best we could make out of a bad situation has now taken place. Like I say in my article about Mary, "I miss my dog...but I'm not worried about her anymore."